1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective cover for a golf club adapted to protect the head and shaft of the golf club. More particularly, it relates to a protective cover for a golf club which includes a pair of head covers coupled to each other to hinge vertically (i.e., on at least one horizontal axis between an open and closed positions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a golf bag is illustrated, in which golf clubs are received. The golf bag 21 is partitioned, as by internal walls 22, to separately receive a plurality of golf clubs therein. The golf bag 21 also has a slope at the bottom thereof (not shown) so that the user can easily and conveniently extract any of golf clubs 1 from the golf bag 21 for use.
Golf clubs 1 are received in the golf bag 21 while being arranged together in parallel in such a manner that those having a shorter length are received in a front portion of the golf bag 21 whereas those having a longer length are received in a rear portion of the golf bag 21. Accordingly, the golf clubs 1 can be easily selected for use. However, when the user carries the golf bag 21, golf clubs 1 received therein will move and jostle, so that they come into contact with one another.
Where golf clubs 1 are received in the golf bag 21 in a manner shown in FIG. 1, the head 2 of a shorter one of the adjacent golf clubs 1 can come into contact with the shaft 3 of a longer golf club, thereby causing the shaft 3 of the longer golf club to be scratched. The paint layer on the surface of the shaft 3 may even be peeled off. This degrades in the appearance of the longer golf club.
In order to solve such a problem, a club cover 101P1 as illustrated in FIG. 2 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 2, a head cover 4 encloses the head 2 of a golf club 1, and a shaft cover 5 encloses the lower portion of the shaft 3 of the golf club 1, adjacent the head 2.
This club cover 101P1 is put onto the club 1 before the golf club is received into the golf bag 21. The head 2 of the golf club 1 is put into an opening defined at the lower end of the shaft cover 5 when golf club 1 is held vertically, head up, the head 2 is enclosed by the head cover 4 and the shaft 3 is enclosed by the shaft cover 5.
This club cover 101P1 prevents the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 from being damaged due to movement occurring while carrying the golf bag, because the club cover 101P1 encloses both the head 2 and shaft 3.
However, the opening of know head cover 4 has a small dimension, taking into consideration the thin construction of the shaft 3 of the golf club 1. Due to such a small dimension of the opening, considerable effort is required to put the club cover 101P1 into the golf club 1 and to remove it. That is, the user should insert the head 2 of the golf club 1 into the opening of the head cover 4 while widening the opening by hand. For taking off the head cover, a strong force again is required to extract the head of the golf club through the narrow opening of the club cover.
Furthermore, when the golf club 1 with the head cover 101P1 is put into the golf bag 21, the shaft cover 5 may come into contact, at its lower end, with the heads of other golf clubs already received in the golf bag 21, the club covers of the latter golf clubs, or the upper ends of partitions provided in the golf bag 21. As a result, the club cover may shift upwardly.
When the head cover portion 5 of the head cover shifts upwardly at its lower end as mentioned above, the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 is exposed, so that it still may come into direct contact with other golf clubs. For this reason, to this club cover 101P1 still permits degradation in the appearance of the golf club shaft.
FIG. 3 illustrates another conventional golf club cover 101P2. This club cover has a cover body 11 adapted to enclose both the head 2 and the lower portion of the shaft 3 of a golf club 1. The cover body 11 is longitudinally slit to allow an easy insertion of the head 2 and shaft 3 of the golf club 1 into the head cover. The head cover also has a slide fastener 12 attached to the slit portion of the cover body 11. This club cover 101P2 , the slide fastener 12 attached to the cover body 11 is open for putting the club cover 101P2 onto golf club 1. Thereafter, the head 2 of the golf club 1 is inserted into the head cover through the wide opening of the head cover. After the insertion, the slide fastener 12 is closed. Thus, the club cover 101P2 is put onto the golf club 1, so that it protects the head 2 and the lower portion of the shaft 3.
However, this head cover still has an inconvenience in that the slide fastener 12 must be manipulated to be opened and closed every time the head cover is put onto the golf club and taken off from the golf club.
Typically, the head cover is made of a thick fabric in order to provide a buffering function. For this reason, the head cover is bulky, so that it unnecessarily occupies a large space. This results in a bulky structure of the golf bag 21 itself.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,193 discloses a "golf club cover". Similarly to the head cover of FIG. 2, the golf club cover of the '193 patent has a head cover portion adapted to enclose the head of a golf club, and a shaft cover portion extending downwardly from the head cover portion and serving to enclose the lower portion of the shaft of the golf club.
This golf club cover has a different configuration from the head cover of FIG. 2, only in that it has a longitudinal slot formed in the shaft cover portion, in order to conveniently insert the head and shaft of the golf club into the protective cover. However, this golf club cover still has an inconvenience in that the insertion of the head and shaft of the golf club into the protective cover is carried out under the condition in which the slot must be widened manually.